Medicinal use of Patharchatta or Kalanchoe Pinnata

Kalanchoe Pinnata or Patharchatta is a succulent perennial medicinal herb which is found almost throughout India. It is small plant which is also used for ornamental purpose in gardens. The plant can easily grow in pots. Patharchatta does not grow from seeds. It propagates from the leaves of the plant and a single leaf can produce 5-10 plants.

Patharchatta is used as a folk medicine in India, tropical Africa, tropical America, China, and Australia. The leaves are used both externally and internally. They have diuretic, wound healing, hepatoprotective, antimicrobial, antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory activities and are beneficial in urinary bladder and kidney stones, intestinal problem, ulcers, arthritis, inflammation, conjunctivitis, menstrual disorders, migraine, urethritis, wound, dysentery, ulcers, indigestion, etc.

General Information

• Plant Description: It is an erect, glabrous plant reaching up to 1 m high. The stem is obtusely 4 – angled. The lower and uppermost leaves are simple. The middle ones pinnately 3- to 5- foliolate. Flowers pendulous in lax panicles. Calyx cylindric, 4-lobed. Corolla yellow, constricted in the middle; lobes 4. Stamens 8, in 2 series. Carpels 4, almost free. Fruit 4 follicles, enclosed in the persistent papery calyx and corolla. It grows wild in shaded places and along water courses. It is usually cultivated for ornamental purpose.
• Part(s) used for medicinal purpose: Leaves
• Plant type / Growth Habit: Succulent herb
• Duration: Perennial
• Distribution: Throughout the warm and moist parts of India, especially abundant in West Bengal. Distributed in other temperate regions of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, Macaronesia, Mascarenes, Galapagos, Melanesia, Polynesia and Hawaii.
• Habitat: Shady places, arid lowlands and moist uplands.
• Propagation and management: Vegetative propagation, by producing roots on leaf margin. The leaves fall on soil and produces roots and thus grow as weed.

Vernacular names / Synonyms

1. Scientific name: Kalanchoe Pinnata
2. Sanskrit name: Parn beej, hemsagar, Asthibhaksha, Parnabija, Parnabijah
3. English: Air plant, Good luck leaf, Hawaiian air plant, Life plant, American Life Plant, Floppers
4. Hindi: Patharchattam, Patharchur, Pather Chat, Paan-futti
5. Bengali: Koppat, Patharkuchi, Gatrapuri, Kaphpata, Koppata, Pathorkuchi
6. Kannada: Kaadubasale, Dadabadike, Patrajeeva
7. Malayalam: Elachedi, Elamulachi, Ilamarunnu, Ilamulachi
8. Telugu: Ranapala
9. Tamil: Runa kalli
10. Other Names: Cathedral Bells, Air Plant, Life Plant, Miracle Leaf, Goethe Plant, Wonder of the World, Mother of Thousands
11. Unani: Zakhm-hayaat, Zakhm-e-Hayaat, Pattharchoor, Pattharchat.
12. Siddha: Ranakkalli
13. Chakma: Jeos, Jeus, Patharkuchi, Roah-Kapanghey
14. Tripura: Jeos, Naproking, Pathorkuchi

Scientific Classification

The botanical name of Pattarchatta is Kalanchoe Pinnata. It belongs to plant family Crassulaceae. Below is given taxonomical classification of the plant.

1. Kingdom: Plantae
2. Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
3. Superdivision: Spermatophyta
4. Division: Magnoliophyta
5. Class: Magnoliopsida
6. Subclass: Rosidae
7. Order: Rosales
8. Family: Crassulaceae (Stonecrop family)
9. Genus: Kalanchoe Adans. (widow’s-thrill)
10. Species: Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers.

Synonyms

1. Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken
2. Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb.
3. Cotyledon pinnata Lam.

Constituents of Kalanchoe Pinnata

Kalanchoe Pinnata contains n-alkane, n-alkanol, alpha- and beta-amyrin and sitosterol.

Leaves contain Wax hydrocarbnons, wax alcohols, malic, isocitric and citric acids, glycosides of quercetin and kaempferol, fumaric acid, bryophyllin B and phenolic components.

Important Medicinal Properties

Kalanchoe Pinnata is rich in medicinal properties.

Below is given medicinal properties along with the meaning.

1. Astringent: Causing the contraction of the skin cells and other body tissues and helps to stop bleeding.
2. Analgesic: Relieve pain.
3. Anti-aggregant: Decrease platelet aggregation and inhibit thrombus formation.
4. Anti–dysenteric: Relieving or preventing dysentery.
5. Anti–inflammatory: Reducing inflammation by acting on body mechanisms.
6. Antiseptic: Capable of preventing infection by inhibiting the growth of infectious agents.
7. Antispasmodic: Used to relieve spasm of involuntary muscle.
8. Cytotoxic: Tending to arrest or prevent cancer
9. Diuretic: Promoting excretion of urine/agent that increases the amount of urine excreted.
10. Disinfectant: Destroys bacteria.
11. Emollient: Soothing and softening effect on the skin or an irritated internal surface.
12. Hemostatic: Retarding or stopping the flow of blood within the blood vessels.
13. Immunomodulatory: Modifies the immune response or the functioning of the immune system.
14. Styptic: capable of causing bleeding to stop when it is applied to a wound.

Medicinal uses of Patharchatta

Kalanchoe Pinnata is used to treat clinical conditions such as asthma, blood dysentery, boils, bronchial affections, cough, diabetes, gout, insect bites, jaundice, dysuria, epilepsy, gout, hoping cough, jaundice, nephrolithiasis, painful micturition, pneumonia, respiratory troubles, tuberculosis, ureterolithiasis, arthritis, inflammation, hypertension and kidney stones. It stimulates production of urine and hence helps in urinary stones. Due to astringent and hemostatic properties it is used in bleeding disorders and hemorrhage.

Stone problems, recurrent stones in the body

Leaves of this plant is very good for removing kidney stone and multiple small gall bladder stone. Chew leaves (2-3) or extract leaves juice and drink twice a day.

Arresting bleeding from wounds, cuts, ulcers

The juice or the bruised fresh leaves or the roasted leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata is taken.

Blood mixed diarrhea

Mix Patharchatta leaf juice (3 ml), jeera (3 g) and ghee (6 g) and take regularly for a few days.

Burns

Plant or leaf paste is applied externally.

Boils and Carbuncles

Paste of whole plant with cumin seeds are applied.

Blood in stools diarrhea and dysentery

Juice of leaves 2-5 ml + Ghee 4-10 ml + Jeera powder, is given.

Bloating

Juice obtained from 4-5 leaves is mixed with one teaspoonful Mishri and one cup of warm water and taken orally.

Broken healing ulcers, abscesses, boils, tumors, cysts

The paste or poultice made of leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata (Zakhm-e – hayat) is applied.

Chronic wounds and ulcers

Thick coating of leaf paste is applied. When it turns black the coating is removed and new paste is applied.

Cough

Warm leaf juice taken twice a day with honey for 3-5 days.

Dandruff

Leaf juice + coconut oil is applied on scalp at night.

Discoloration caused by bruises, black eye, inflammation

Poultice of the roasted leaves or a paste of the fresh leaves or their juice is applied.

Diarrhea

7-14 ml juice of leaves with honey thrice daily.

Dysentery

Juice extracted from equal amount of leaves of Kalanchoe pinnata + Jamun (Syzygium cuminii) and Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is taken.

Ear pain, otorrhoea (Discharge from ear)

For ear discharge (‘Kaan ka behna’ in Hindi) and pain in ear, warm yellow leaves of Patharchatta and extract its juice. Put few drops in ear.

Headache

Leaf paste applied over forehead.

High blood pressure, scanty urine, Dysuria, Urinary problems

Regularly chew (2-3) leaves of Kalanchoe Pinnata twice day.

Indigestion

Leaf juice is taken twice a day.

Inflammation, joint pain in arthritis, wounds, sprain

Warm leaves of Patharchatta and apply at affected area with pain relieving oil.

Jaundice

Take fresh leaves juice of Kalanchoe Pinnata for the liver problems and Jaundice.

Kidney and bladder stones

1. Leaf juice is taken internally for 2 weeks. Or
2. Chew two fresh leaves along with black pepper on an empty stomach. Or
3. Grind the leaves of the plant. Add turmeric and some jaggery. Take this preparation for 2 weeks.

Leucorrhoea (shevt pradar), cholera

Take Patharchatta leaves juice (2 tablespoon) twice a day.

Non healing wounds

Boil Patharchatta leaves in water and use this water to wash wounds. Alternatively you can use honey on wound is very helpful in the treatment of any kind of wounds even it can cure chronic wounds with support of other Ayurvedic medicines.

Pain in eye

2 drops of leaf juice is used as eye drop.

Piles and hemorrhoids

Mix leaf juice with black pepper powder and take regularly for a few days.

 

Poisoning due to bites of animals

Warm Patharchatta leaves are applied over the bitten parts.

Stomach disorder

2 spoonful of the leaf juice is taken orally.

Skin diseases, swellings due to bruises, bleeding from cuts and wounds

The paste of leaves is applied topically.

Smelly sweat, bad body odour

Eat one Patharchatta leaf daily.

To expel or remove spines and thorns from the body

Leaf juice mixed with salt is applied.

Tinea/ringworm

The leaf paste is applied topically to treat dermatophytosis.

Ulcerative colitis

The leaf juice is given.

Wounds

Leaves / peeled leaf is applied.

Other uses: The plant is cultivated as ornamental houseplants.

The Dosage of Leaf

The leaf juice can be taken in a dose of 10-30 ml.

How to grow Patharchatta Plant?

Kalanchoe Pinnata is known as Parnabija, Patrajeeva and Elamulachi as the new plants grow from the leaf of the plant. You can easily grow this plant at home.

You just need to pluck a leaf from a Patharchatta plant and simply put it in wet soil or a dish with some water. In few days, the developing roots can be seen at leaf margins. After the roots, leaves appear and soon a new baby plant is ready which when planted can become independent plant. The plant prefers warm, sunny or shady places. The soil required should sandy and should not hold water.